Loving into Uselessness

Alright, ya'll, I'm a saver. Like, an extreme saver.

There's that classic story of the kid who saved up for months to buy a brand new bicycle, and when he was finally able to get it, was so nervous about damaging the bike by taking it outside that he never rode it and he eventually grew out of the thing without ever actually taking it for a spin. He literally purchased the bike and loved it into uselessness.

It's such a bummer of a story.

And I'm here to admit that I do stuff like this all the time.

Not with bicycles, thank goodness, but with a variety of other things: makeup products (How could I ruin the perfection of the Lorac Pro-to-Go Palette by actually USING the thing?), gift cards (If I use them, then I won't have them anymore! And what if someday I'm out of money and I need them?), and a variety of other things that I purchase to enjoy and then refuse to use.

It's ridiculous, honestly, but I know I can't possibly be the only one who does this!

Here's the thing, though, I am trying (true, it is ever-so-slowly, but I'm still trying!) to change this habit in myself. I recent bought a stupidly expensive lipstick (WITH A GIFT CARD!) and have been forcing myself to actually use the thing! It's gorgeous and I love it so much, but that's precisely the reason why my initial reaction is to save it --- once it's gone, I won't have it anymore!

As far as hoarding tendencies go, I suppose it's good that this is happening with gift cards and lipstick instead of cats and trash piles or something, but it's still no good. And I have been taking little tiny steps to remind myself that part of life is enjoying it, not always preparing from some unknown time in the future when I may want to use something or I may need something.

Of course, planning ahead is a good idea in life, but not completely at the expense of a little fun and happiness today! I'd like to start loving things into uselessness because I really enjoyed them to their limit, and not because I was too scared to even try!